1. Like how I made Nasi Beriyani for the first time ever and was so happy with how it turned out. In my head, nasi beriyani is so hard to cook and also it’s fatty with all the ghee that comes with it. But this recipe (from the book Curry Easy) is a winner! I was short of patting myself at the back, haha! Just to let you know that whenever I cook following a recipe from a book, it never turns out like how it should! ….But maybe cos I always opt out an ingredient …. and take shortcuts ….. or just simply not reading the instructions properly! Haha.

I was gonna share the recipe here, but malas jua kan type. I’ll do it later k insyaAllah.

2. I also wanted to tell you about this awesome website. Smitten Kitchen. The blogger has a knack in writing and cooking/baking! I tried the tiramisu cake, and nyumster! I love tiramisu, so having it turned into cake is awessooome. I just wish I put more of that mascarpone cream between the layers!

3. I could go on writing about my obsession with Zayan’s sleep …or lack of at night. Basically I’ve tried the tough love method and it has now backfired on me. He, who could be put down more easily, has become clingy as a result. So now I’m trying to be patient and just follow my gut feeling on what to do. And forever hoping he will sleep by himself, be put down easily, sleep for hours at some point….this year.

I was gonna say sleep for hours one day. And I realise how silly that sounds. He WILL grow up one day and sleep on his own!

4. Counting the days till we get on the plane to home sweet home. *googles frantically ‘travel long haul with baby’*

Anyway, I’m currently reading ‘The Butterfly Mosque’ – which is described as ‘A young woman’s journey to Love and Islam’. And it made me reflect on becoming a muslim and discovering ourselves and discovering our religion. For me, that journey was over the years, when I was here. It might just be because the early twenties are when you start to think of who you’re becoming, or it could be that being outside of my comfort zone, I think more of why I’m doing things, what the hijab means to me, why I’m praying.

I’ve seen so many people who study here undergoing/underwent that transformation. Perhaps being away, you do things because you want to, and not because it’s such a routine in your life that you forget what it means or why you’re doing it in the first place. Do I make sense?

Ok, enough rambling.

To end this post, let me share one of the story from a favourite da’ee (sp?) of mine – a speaker whose talks I can relate to:

There was a guy in the US maybe or Canada, who was born a muslim but didn’t practice the religion. He did drugs, alcohol, sex outside marriage, and has a wife who wasn’t a muslim. He got into a rut at one point and wanted to find a religion he could turn to. He started going to the local mosque and became student/anak guru to this Imam. However, try as he may, he couldn’t get his wife to be attracted to the religion.

They started arguing about it and he tried to preach to her sampai she gets annoyed with it. He wanted to show her how wonderful Islam is, see it, SEE IT! So he asked his Imam about this. The Imam,wisely said, don’t say anything to her anymore. Just show her.

Just show her.

Live your life like how the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. lived his. How he would interact with other people. How he treated his wives and children. So he did, or tried as best as he could. And the wife saw this transformation. How he’s more patient, gentle, tolerant. He became more of the husband she has always wanted (I mean, come on, who doesn’t want a husband like that). One day, when he was about to pray, she asked to join him. *sniffles*